Elastic and expansible paving joint



R E H c s F c A. A 2 9 1 5 Aug ELASTIC AND EXPANSIBLE PAVING JOINT Filed July 3, 1920 ALBERT C. FISCHER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ELASTIC AND EXPANSIBLE PAVING JOINT.

Application filed July 3, 1920. Serial No. 393,801.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I,-ALBERT C. F1soHnR, a

Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elastic and Expansible Paving Joints, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to .improvements in means permitting expansion and compensating for contraction of street paving. Heretofore it has been the practice'to use, between sections of paving, an asphaltic filler or one built up in layers of aisphaltic material placed between layers of saturated felt,

. or a mastic body of felt compounded and saturated with a waterproofing material which was constructed in slabs or board-like strips, to be placed between bricks, curbs, conlcrete blocks and other structural mater1a One difiiculty experienced in the use of many of these 'ex'pedients has been that when the strip is 'laid in the fall, or if through any chance frost finds its way under the strip, the strip will be raised, sometimes as much as several inches, and in some instances almost entirely expelled by the frost under the concrete. ThlS is made possibe by the fact that. when the concrete contracts the material of the joint does not expand to the width of the opening in which .it was first inserted. The resultis that considerable of the material is lost and its purpose defeated. Moreover, the volatile oils with which the joint'is saturated leave the waterproofing material, so that it deteriorates to a hard, brittle, and dried o t condition and no longer has the elastic effect which it had when first installed.

Under such conditions the felt even deteriorates and rots, leaving a powdery substance in its place. This is due to the fact that the. street often reaches a temperature as high as 140 degrees at which considerable 'of the voltatile oils in the asphaltic material necessarily evaporate; the felt being a great conserver of heat and the =asphaltic material saturated thereiniholdingheat considerably longerthan the concrete or paving material does. Another condition tobe met is that when, the concrete paving expands it often' squeezes out the contents of the joint, and traffic wears :itaway until the material which was originall'y used as a filler no longer fills up'the space which pound and thoroughly compresse Was at first occupied by the joint, and

"weather and elements are free to enter. citlzen of the Unlted States, residing at My invention consists in using an insulating material, such as mineral fibre, asbestic fibre, or the like, which is proof against street acids and rotting processes, saturated in a waxy or parafiinous waterproofin comc? into a block-like structure, preferably wedge shaped with the base of the wedge at the bottom of the strip, strip or slab being further lmmersed in an asphaltic waterproofing compound which gives it a solid but. pliant consistency for several inches downward from the top of the joint, leavin the base light in weight and composedon ly of the fibres coated and compressed with a waterproofing material, which is light in structure and yields by compression to pressure from below instead of rising out of its seat, and thus remains in place under the adverse conditions of use. I thus create a joint which is less than half the weight of the solid joint as now being placed upon the market, and more durable in use than such joint. My improved paving'j'oint, under the conditions named, will wedge more tightly into place instead of working out. It is constructed of material which is resistant to temperatures of the hottest possible weather, and it provides a plastic asphaltic top to the joint which will close and seal the top of the joint space,

presents a wearing surface to the traffic, and,

In order that the invention may be fully understood, several embodiments thereof are disclosed, by way of illustration, in the accompanying drawings.

In said drawings the upper part of the Figure 1 represents a joint packing of rectangular section made-of fibrous material;-

with a crown thoroughly immersed in asphaltic material while hot, giving it a tough wearing surface and sealing head.

Figure 2 shows a joint packing composed of fibrous, material alon the sides of a saturated piece of felt and with a crown of asphaltic fibrous'material giving firmness to the joint.

Figure 3 shows a joint packing comprising built-up layers of driedfibrous material saturated with light waterproofing material and having a crown of heavy waterproofing. Figure 4 shows a joint packing comprising an entire fibrous bo'dy immersed m a light waterproofin material, which does not add materially to as weight.

4' base to here together.

crown adapts itself to the top of paving tion.

' exerted vertically to spring'down and lock with v 5 in use.

,proach of the paving 'expand under heat, and of such inherent Figure 9 shdws a solid fibrous block entirely immersed in a solid asphalt while hot, giving to the block a tough, compact, fibrous consistency when cool.

Figure 10 shows concrete, brick, or block paying with joints embodying the sub ect'- matter of the present invention disposed along the sides.

"Figure 11 shows the joint between two construction -surfaces and illustrates how the the crevice, the resiliency, of the base allowing the crown V t e pressure of the traflic, yet presenting a. wearlng' surface to the traffic.

Figure 12 illustrates the form of Figure 7 in ,use; and I Figure 13 represents the form of Figure In all of the figures, A represents the body of the packing which is made of asbestos, mineral wool, or equivalent light fibre, felted together and saturated with parafin, or its equivalent, for the pur oses hereinabove described. Thebody wi be formed of a, section suitable to fill the space members X, Y, Figures 11, 12, and13, of such thicknessthat it"can yield to the apmembers when they elasticitthatit will expand and continue. to fill t e packing space, even though the members The body is also such that pressure upon it, from either below (as in case of frost) or above (as from traflic) will be absorbed inthe inherent compressibility of} the body instead of displacingthebody.

The head or upper portion B is immersed in asphaltic material of such consistency as to provide a substantial pliable envelope,

, shown in Figures dis lacement in -either direction.- With the matter on-the crowns to adbetween paving draw apart under contracticv material.

- lightly and renderthe upper portion compressible and ductile to the extent of adapting itself to the packing opening, filling and sealing the same, and spreading out and presenting a resistant portion of the street surface under the traflic which it encounters.

The body preferably has its side lines so developed some transverse lineor lines in its section so as to present an enlargement that resists expulsion of the packing under vertical pressure. This may be accomplished by making the wedging sections of Figures 5,

that it enlarges downwardly from- 8, and-13, or the flaring lower end of Figure 6; and the taper may be developed from both top andbottom toward the middle as 7 and 12-to resistvertical we g'ing lines, vertical pressure tends to tighten the packing in its seat.

Under the pressure of trafiio, the asphaltenveloped head spreads as suggested 1n Flgures'11, 12, and 13, seals the joint, and presents a tough wearing surface to trafiic.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the surface of my new joint 'will meet the unusual condition which is demanded of it, will always present a filling for the crevice, and will not be subject to the conditions that a soli asphaltic or board-like felt joint is subjec to. While of fibrous nature, it is not subject to rotting process. The shape of the joint-and its inherent structure save it from the fluid consistency which an asphaltic joint has.

I claim:

1. An expansion joint composed of compressible mineral fibrous matter having cells the upper portion or pores, and having thereof composed of a substantially solid mass of'asphaltic or bituminous substance penetrated into the fibrous structure I and forming thereon .a solid non-fluid head.

2. A packing for paving joints, composed of fibrous material coated with a relatively 'lightwaterproofing material which doesnot add materially to its fibrous material being mass.

weight, said coated felted into a cellular .3. A packing for paving joints, composed of fibrous material coated with a relatively light'waterproofing material which does not add materially to its weight, said coated fibrous material of layers of cellular strueturemfnd said layers being assembled in the packing.

4. A packing for paving joints,comprising felted fibrous material built up in layers,

immersed in a waterproofing material, and having a crown consistingtof. heavy asphal- 5. A packing for paving joints compris ing a heavy felted fibrous material, waterproofed and crowned with a solid asphaltic material.

being felted into a plurality saturated felt ilvith sides of L v 6. A fibrous material waterproofed with a 4 waterproofingsubstance which does not add materially'to its weight, and having a crown ofbituminous matter imparting a tough resilience to the crown.

7. A mineral fibrous matter lightly pressed into an air cell structure, adhered with a waxy or paraflinous waterproofing material which does not add materially to its weight.

-8. A joint packing consisting of fibrous material formed into a light cellular structure, and having a portion thereof jacketed with a ductile substance that renders it tough and resilient.

9. A joint paving constructed of a compressible body of felted fibrous material.

this 30th day 

